DISTANCE LEARNING 2

Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of being involved in distance learning is seeing the impact that such a course can have on someone's career choices. Two examples featured on the main LSJ website illustrate this particularly well.

Nicci Perides (top) worked for seven years as a dancer before making the 'natural progression' into television, initially as a presenter and later working on documentaries and script writing.

But her love of travel had always led her to explore new parts of the world and it was a chance meeting with a travel journalist on a chicken bus in Nicaragua which encouraged her to turn her hobby into a career.

She duly embarked on a distance-learning course with the LSJ, soon picking up her first paid commission for The Times magazine. It wasn't long before she was being published in other outlets, from Overseas Living to TNT, Business Destinations and Jetaway magazine.

She progressed to being a writer and later online editor for Time & Leisure magazine before a further freelancing stint, initially as a sub-editor for Net-a-Porter and then as assistant online editor for DOTWNews.com, based in the United Arab Emirates.

The initials stand for “Destinations of the World” – and for a 30-year-old who has already travelled to dozens of different countries (47 so far and counting) – there could hardly be a more appropriate outlet.

“What I have discovered is that the LSJ gives a great foundation in journalism training,” she says. “I would never have believed I would have achieved so much in such little time. I only began the course two years ago – and I’m now doing the job I love.

“I absolutely love travelling and writing and it’s just amazing that I can combine the two and actually get paid for it. It’s my dream job.”

Richard Torné (above) was someone else who had always wondered about turning his hobby into a career. Formerly a struggling musician, he had already "gone it alone" to set up his own business running an English language academy in Spain.

But after completing the online course, he rapidly became a full-time journalist in 2004 and went on to become editor of the Costa Almería News in 2007.

Another major achievement was helping a famed film specialist, Eddie Fowlie, to write his memoirs – David Lean’s Dedicated Maniac – which were published in the UK in 2010 shortly before Eddie died.